The present application relates generally to remanufacturing toner cartridges, and more particularly to techniques for replacing a rotatable cylinder in the toner cartridge. One example of a rotating cylinder is a toner cartridge organic photo conductor drum (OPC drum).
The remanufacture of many different types of toner cartridge requires maintaining a large inventory composed of many different types rotating cylinders. Storing multiple rotating cylinders occupies storage space for the different sizes of cylinder, the gears, and hubs necessary in the cartridge remanufacture process. What is needed is a universal rotating cylinder adaptable for use in a large variety of cartridge types. Such a universal rotating cylinder would enable a remanufacturer to maintain an inventory of fewer cylinder types when manufacturing a variety of cartridges.
The present application provides multiple methods to assemble a universal OPC drum sleeve with a standard mounting end affixed to both sides and making a multitude of different OPC drums for use in various printers by interchanging the gears and/or unique features for the intended printer.
The method of design and installation of the gear and OPC drum interface will be discussed in the following embodiments. It is understood that the designs and explanations described in this document shall not be limiting to the overall concept and shall also include any or all extensions and variations of the following embodiments.